Ric Bellizzi

When I was five years old, I started painting with finger-paints. The moment I did that, I knew that I was meant to be an artist.

My mother suffered from mental illness. This changed my perception of the world. I saw how others treated her as "different," and how no one did anything to help her. As a child, I watched this. It molded who I am, and how I perceive things. I couldn't accept that this was the world that I was to be part of, so I decided to create my own.

I paint in oil because no other medium will give me the intensity of color that I want. Sometimes one painting will take me months to do. I go over it and over it again and again, adding to it.

I hope that through my art, I bring brightness to a dark world.

Studied at Parsons School of Design
Studied sculpture, photography at VCU (Virginia Commonwealth University) School of the Arts
Studied at Corcoran School of the Arts and Design

Virginia Museum of Fine Arts
1977

The Soul & The Pawnshop, at Sediment
03.06.2015 - 03.15.2015

Art Works, Richmond, VA
March - July 2020